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Backed by Dr. Susan Recker, Dr. Jeannette Bimonte & 1 others...
Homemade diets are the most customizable diet option available, with endless food combinations that can be formulated to meet the needs of your individual dog. They allow you to take full control of what your dog is eating and the quality of the ingredients being used. Homemade diets can be fed either cooked or raw depending on your preference and the specific needs of your dog.
Homemade diets are under scrutiny for the possibility that they may not supply complete nutrition. While it is entirely possible to make a balanced diet for your dog at home, their nutritional needs are not the same as ours. A study conducted by UC Davis evaluated 200 recipes from 34 different sources for homemade dog food and found that 95% of them were deficient in at least one essential micronutrient and 83% were lacking in more than one essential nutrient, according to nutrient minimums set forth by the American Association of Feed Control (AAFCO).
You need both a general understanding of macronutrient proportions (protein, fats, carbohydrates, and moisture), a deeper understanding of which ingredients supply which nutrients, and where common nutritional gaps show up. Because of this, follow a complete and balanced recipe from a qualified professional to ensure your dog's nutritional needs are being met.
An overview of key macronutrients, minerals, and vitamins in dog food.
| Nutrient | Function |
|---|---|
| Macronutrient | Function 1 |
| Protein | Function 2 |
| Fat | Function 3 |
| Carbohydrate | Function 4 |
| Moisture | Function 5 |
One common argument against complete and balanced recipes is that nutritional needs were meant to be met over time. The thinking goes: we don't balance each of our own meals, we reach balance over time by eating a varied diet. This argument assumes the average dog parent understands the general nutritional needs of their dog and will vary the diet enough to meet those needs over time. In practice, owners often do not vary their ingredients enough to achieve this balance over time.
Each ingredient has a different nutrient makeup, even among similar foods. For example, 100 grams of cooked beef liver supplies 12-15mg of copper, while 100g of cooked chicken liver supplies 0.3-0.5mg of copper. Diets relying solely on chicken liver to supply copper will often be deficient, while diets relying on beef and duck liver in the same proportions will supply far too much copper daily. For this reason, follow a balanced recipe and have more than one to rotate between often.
What It Means:
Gently cooked diets involve cooking your dog's food at lower temperatures to preserve nutrients while eliminating pathogenic bacteria. When you cook the diet, you need to make up for potential nutrient losses in the formulation, either through an increase in certain ingredients or supplementation.
What To Know:
Nutrient losses vary greatly between foods and cooking methods. Of the many studies conducted on this, the overall consensus is that water soluble vitamins are more susceptible to degradation during the cooking process and that boiling generally affords the highest losses (an average of 30%). However, in some cases cooking can actually increase the digestibility of certain ingredients and nutrients.
What It Means:
Raw homemade meals supply undenatured levels of nutrients in many cases, but they're also likely to contain pathogenic bacteria. When buying pre-made commercial raw pet foods, the FDA has a "zero tolerance policy" for pathogenic bacteria. Foods you purchase at the grocery store or butcher for homemade diets are regulated by USDA, which allows certain amounts of food-borne pathogens on raw meats since cooking eliminates them. If you're feeding a homemade raw diet to your dog, there is no such "kill-step" in place.
What To Know:
Dogs with healthy functioning guts are generally able to tolerate this bacteria. Their physiology, from extremely acidic gastric pH to their microbiomes, is designed for it. However, dogs can contract this bacteria, and those with underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems face increased risk. For dogs with underlying health conditions, a gently cooked diet is often recommended.
What It Means:
Don’t rely on one specific recipe indefinitely. The nutrient composition of foods change from batch to batch and throughout the year as the seasons change. Certain foods are more nutrient dense in certain seasons. A study conducted on peppers grown in a greenhouse throughout the year yielded higher nutrient levels in the summer than those harvested in the fall and winter.
What To Know:
When relying on whole food based nutrition, take these variations into account. An easy way to achieve variety is to rotate between a couple of different balanced homemade recipes. Not only does this ensure your dog is eating a balanced diet, it can also help keep the microbiome healthy and populated. A 2022 study showed that the microbiome population is influenced by the nutrients present in the diet, with dogs being fed fresh food diets having a more diverse microbiome population.
Due to the complexity of canine nutrition, follow a complete and balanced homemade recipe from a qualified professional and stick to the directions provided to ensure your dog’s nutritional needs are being met. Even seemingly small variations in ingredient amounts or macronutrient percentages cause significant changes to the nutritional makeup of that food. Even differences in cooking methods significantly change nutrient content, so following all instructions provided with that recipe ensures your dog gets all necessary nutrients in the right proportions.
Some plants have a tougher cellular membrane and can be very difficult to digest in their raw state, such as potatoes, beets, mushrooms and even carrots. One study found that cooked carrots not only become more digestible but significantly increase bioavailability of certain antioxidants.
Pureeing leafy greens and fruits will help increase their digestibility by breaking down their cellular membranes, preserve more of their nutrient levels, and also helps ensure your dog is not picking and choosing which parts of the recipe to eat. While cooking starchier vegetables such as root vegetables can increase nutrient absorption and digestibility.
When changing your dog’s diet, particularly after extended periods on their previous diet, expect a transitional period as they adapt to new food. This is normal and frequently resolves within the first week, though symptoms can last up to two weeks in some cases. Symptoms during transition include loose stool or diarrhea, hard stool, and gas. Digestive enzymes and soluble fiber, such as psyllium husk, can help mitigate symptoms during this period.
A gradual transition and the cold turkey method are two popular methods of diet transition for dogs. Your dog may experience some symptoms on either method, but some scenarios make one method better than the other.
What It Means:
This is the most commonly known method, which aims at slowly introducing the new diet to your dog by gradually adding a little bit less of the previous diet and a little bit more of the new diet over a period of several days. It’s generally done over the course of 4-7 days. The idea behind this method is that your dog’s gut is being given the time to adjust to the new diet.
What To Know:
This method can be gentler on the stomach as the microbiome readapts to the new food. It’s typically best for older dogs who have been fed a processed diet for long periods of time, or dogs that have experienced little variation in diet. If your dog has BVS (Bilious Vomiting Syndrome) or commonly gets bile vomits when hungry, the gradual transition is likely an easier route.
What It Means:
This method employs a 24-hour fasting period, followed by the immediate and total introduction of the new diet as the first meal post-fast.
What To Know
The cold turkey method is great for dogs that require the total consumption of certain nutrients monitored, such as copper for Copper Storage Disease (CSD).
What It Means:
There is a lot of fear around feeding homemade diets. Regardless of whether you’re feeding your dog’s homemade diet raw or cooked, it requires the same safety practices you use when preparing raw food for yourself.
What To Know